Don't let the bastards get you down:
"If you find yourself at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!"
Canadians Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue won the gold medal in ice dancing at the Olympics last night. Could there have been a more exuberant person than this guy on the medal stand? You could see his heart singing! It just made me feel great.
Unfortunately, I had fallen asleep before they and the Americans had given their final performances. I only awoke when they were awarding the medals, and I'm glad I did.
For those of you that aren't into sports, there is the singing of the national anthem before every game. For hockey, even at the collegiate level, they also sing the Canadian national anthem because so many Canadians are represented.
Our local engineering college is one of the big-time hockey universities. The only sport they really play with any gusto is hockey. It's a big deal here; I suppose it's like high school football in rural Texas.
My brother has had season tickets for decades and took my father to many games when he was alive. My Dad was blind from diabetes by that time, but he enjoyed the frenetic games and spending time with his son.
One of the funny things was my father singing O Canada at the top of his lungs before every game. Being a WWII veteran and patriot, you wouldn't think he'd get into singing the anthem of another country. But there he'd be, belting out the tune.
I think O Canada is the most singable and catchy of any anthem.
O Canada!Go Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Did ya see it? Did ya see it?
OMG, the smackdown of the century! And it all took place on The Bachelor: The Women Tell All last night.
Some background. I haven't written any posts about The Bachelor this season because it's been quite a disappointment. Jake, the bachelor, is incredibly handsome, nice, great job, perfect on paper. I've had him here on Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day. Unfortunately, when the show was all about him, he comes off as kinda douchy and somewhat of a bore.
He's pretty churchy. When asked in an interview about the overnight dates, he replied that it wasn't all about "making babies." That signals an interesting view of sex; one where the ultimate goal is procreation.
I've always had a crush on host Chris Harrison, too. Ever since he was on HGTV's Designer's Challenge.
Anyway, last night the woman came back for the second to last installment where all the rejects get to answer questions from the host and the audience. They also get to ask questions of the other contestants and of the bachelor himself.
This year, quite early on, contestant Rozlyn was kicked off the show for an off-camera inappropriate relationship with an associate producer.
From Yahoo! News:
I generally cringe when I watch "The Bachelor: The Women Tell All" episode, since it is often uncomfortable and just a little bit embarrassing for a few women. But tonight was scandalous!And then it happened.
No need to get into the standard trash talking — the real guts of this show were all focused on Rozlyn Papa. Chris Harrison asked the other girls to share what they witnessed. (Meanwhile, Rozlyn was backstage). The most damaging testimony was from Jessie, who claimed to have seen Rozlyn and the producer "making out" on the back stairs while everyone else was out by the pool. She notified producers, and Rozlyn left the following day.
When Chris ultimately brought Rozlyn to the stage, he was gracious and basically set her up to admit the truth. But Rozlyn provided some lame excuses that were easily refuted.
So, even using "on my child's life" as a means to deny Jessie's allegation, she seemed to realize she was looking foolish. So what did she do? She lashed out at Chris — kind and somewhat-by-the-book Chris Harrison, who is married to his high-school sweetheart.
This was the moment of the show, and sadly, it came at his expense. Chris mentioned it was difficult to fire the producer (who had been with the show for several seasons) because they were friends. And Rozlyn fired back, "That's news to him; he didn't get a friendly vibe when you were hitting on his wife last year in New Zealand!"Ouch!
Upstate NY is a pretty conservative place. I lived for 20 years in Orange County, CA, largely considered one of the most conservative places in the country, and I can tell you that OC is liberal compared to here.
I categorize our local newspaper, The Record, as a conservative rag based on their selection of right-wing teabaggerish op-ed columnists. In fact, I canceled my subscription about a year ago after one of these nitwits went too far.
Sundays, however, I go to the local convenience store and buy the paper for the coupon inserts and crossword puzzle.
In today's edition, the "Street Talk" item where locals respond to a question, were posed the following:
"Should openly gay Americans have the right to serve in the military?"The three men and two women responded as follows:
"Yes, sure they do because this country was founded on equal rights for everyone."I consider myself lucky. I'm am out to everyone that knows me...family, friends, and neighbors. However, this area is really closeted. This random survey tells me there's hope yet!
"Yes, sure...why shouldn't they?"
"Yes, because the current policy creates conditions that are bad for military effectiveness...dishonesty, blackmail, and the expulsion of a huge number of talented people."
"Sure...why not?"
"Yes, because there is no difference in service between a gay person and a straight person."
These are a couple of my photos from 2004.
In 2004, I started a Mediterranean cruise on Madeira Island. The cruise went from there to Lisbon, on to the coastal Spanish cities of Cadiz and Malaga, and ended in Barcelona.
I scheduled us to arrive on Madeira two days early to make sure we didn't miss the boat after traveling so far. From LAX to London, where we stayed for a few days with friends, then on to Madeira after a transfer in Lisbon. We stayed in Barcelona for a few days after the cruise, then back to London for a couple more days via Madrid, and finally home to LAX.
We checked out the island and its main city of Funchal. I really liked it. If it weren't so hard to get to, I'd go back in a second.
Flooding and landslides swept away cars and knocked down houses as a violent storm killed at least 32 people on the Portuguese island of Madeira.Madeira is mostly known for its wine of the same name. The locals were very friendly and it is one of the few placed I've been overseas where they actually like Americans!
Madeira is the main island of a Portuguese archipelago of the same name, in the Atlantic off the northwest coast of Africa.
Local authorities called in employees to operate heavy machinery like bulldozers to clear roads and remove debris. People in low-lying areas of Funchal fled as flood waters rose.
Within the last 2 days, I saw a television commercial that I'm trying to find online.
Unfortunately, the best part didn't come until the end so I don't know the product.
It is a man and wife. They are talking. The man is on a balcony. The camera shot changes and it shows the entire house with a black and white cat on the ground below. The man makes some kind of statement and the cat jumps up two stories (CGI) and back down to the ground.
I think the premise is that the man has something so delicious in his hand that the cat jumps up two stories to grab a bite.
Any ideas? I couldn't find it on YouTube or with a Google video search. I want to make it my Saturday funny post.
In 2004, a month before the tsunami hit in the Indian ocean, I took a trip to Vancouver. My ex and I were staying in the Seattle area and decided to drive up.
I really loved the city. I'd seriously consider moving there if it weren't for the weather. On the bright side, all that rain makes the city's roads and sidewalks quite clean.
We spent a day walking around the shops on Granville Island. It's a bit of a tourist trap but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I remember a great art gallery there featuring a lot of work from tribesmen in the traditional British Columbia style.
Before we left, we took a drive around Stanley Park. The most visited part of the park is where the totem poles are located. I have to admit, they were a little disappointing.
This is a view of the Vancouver skyline looking south from the park.
A view looking southeast from the park.
If I can recall, this is looking north at West Vancouver (to the west of Lions Gate Bridge).
I'd love to make it back there someday!
A guy walks into a post office and sees a middle-aged man placing "Love" stamps on a stack of pink envelopes covered with hearts. The man then sprays the cards with a delicate scent.
Curiosity gets the best of the onlooker and he asks the man what he's doing.
"I'm sending out 1,000 Valentines signed 'Guess Who?'," replies the man.
"But why?"
"Because I'm a divorce lawyer," he says with a grin.
"You're trying to seduce me Mrs. Robinson."
I remember my Mom saying that Dustin Hoffman was homely, but I find him rather attractive.
The movie really is interesting as I haven't seen it in a very long time. It's such a period piece, released in 1967, yet still seems valid today. Some observations:
• Familiar actors of today in bit parts: Norman Fell (Mr. Roper from Three's Company), Alice Ghostly (Esmeralda from Bewitched), Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara from Bewitched), Richard Dreyfuss (from Jaws and Close Encounters), Buck Henry (from early Saturday Night Live who also co-wrote the movie).
• Dustin/Ben needs a dime so he can use a pay phone. How long has it been since there were pay phones?
• Norman Fell rents a room to Ben in a house in Berkeley and tells him he doesn't want any radicals. Hints of what was to come in the next couple of years in the SF Bay area.
• Makeup of the day consisted of heavy eyeliner and false eyelashes.
• Anne Bancroft/Mrs. Robinson wears thigh-high stockings. When were pantyhose introduced?
• Extras have the long hair, sideburns, and clothes of the day.
• Streetscapes with old fashioned store fronts, signage, cars, buses (and advertising), etc.
• A scene where they are watching television and The Newlywed Game is on with host Bob Eubanks.
• Lots of smoking and drinking on screen.
• Directed by Mike Nichols (Mr. Diane Sawyer).
• Classic soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel.
If Ben behaved today as he did then, we'd call it stalking and Elaine would have a restraining order against him. And, given his use of the cross to block the doors in the next to last scene, every Christian organization would have claimed blasphemy and organized a boycott!
We have the Duggar family which is approaching a score of children and, I suspect, a prolapsed vagina. Then there's the Octomom. And who can forget John & Kate + 8, try as we might.
Believe it or not, these lame brained baby machines aren't the subject of this post.
Nope, I'm talking about John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, and Jeff Goldblum. Yup, now Goldblum's in on the act.
So the video we're hearing about in the scandal shows a well-endowed John Edwards porking a pregnant woman, presumably Hunter. Who was also seeing Jeff Goldblum at the time. When Goldblum asks if the baby is his, she says it could be.
ISN'T ANYONE WEARING CONDOMS? What fucking planet are these assholes on, anyway? So this chick is making time with at least two people at a time. I'm not a prude, but shouldn't you be on some form of birth control? And the men. Especially Edwards. You're banging some woman outside of your marriage and you aren't wearing a condom?
Let's assume she says she's on the pill. Isn't anyone listening to the health messages that have been running on television since I was a kid?
Yes, kiddies, these ran on network television back in the 1970's. But apparently we've learned nothing. Sometimes I wonder why we spend the money. I suppose it would be much worse if we didn't. In the end, you can't protect people from themselves.
Sure there's HIV, something I think American heterosexuals discount as a gay disease despite evidence otherwise. Even so, what about warts, drug-resistant syphilis, and gonorrhea? That shit's still out there, and with the possibility of bringing it home to your wife, I find that the most offensive part of all.
BTW, I'd so do the guy in the alligator shirt in the video clip. And demand a condom, of course!
Vienna, the cross-eyed brood-mare on The Bachelor, has made it into the final three contestants.
Old nag Nancy Kerrigan is going to be a special Winter Olympics reporter for Entertainment Tonight.
Which reminds me of Jim Carrey's character, Vera, on In Living Color. You'll see why at the 2:25 mark.
My annual repost...
National Anthem 1999
Cher's final notes give me the chills every time!
Halftime 2002
The nation was still in shock and mourning from 9/11, with a bit of a guilt complex on whether it was okay to enjoy ourselves. The unexpected tapestry of names and Bono revealing that the lining of his jacket was the U.S. flag were strokes of brilliance!
Commercial 1984
An ad the likes of which we'll never see again. The 30 seconds that became a phenomenon, and set the tone for all SuperBowl advertising to follow.
From a commenter on progressive site Think Progress:
You can lead a moron (ditto-head, BeckerHead, FoxSnooze viewer, etc.) to a fact but you can’t make them think.FTW!
Here's a fun video for you Losties. The original scene from the pilot episode on the left; the opening scene from this season on the right.
The scientists that are painstakingly working on solving the HIV/AIDS problem have made a major breakthrough:
Scientists say they have solved a crucial puzzle about the AIDS virus after 20 years of research and that their findings could lead to better treatments for HIV.Read the full story on Yahoo! News.
British and U.S. researchers said they had grown a crystal that enabled them to see the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which is found in retroviruses like HIV and is a target for some of the newest HIV medicines.
When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects someone, it uses the integrase enzyme to paste a copy of its genetic information into their DNA, Cherepanov explained in the study published in the Nature journal on Sunday.
Some new drugs for HIV work by blocking integrase, but scientists are not clear exactly how they work or how to improve them. It took more than 40,000 trials for them to come up with one a crystal of sufficiently high quality to allow them to see the three-dimensional structure, they said.
